Operating mechanism for excavators, dredges, and the like.



N0. 816,573. lATENTBD APR. 3, 1906. W. PERRIS 45: P. E. BAGER. OPERATING MECHANISM FOR EXCAVATORS, DREDGBS, AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED 3138519. 1905.

3 SHEETSS XEBT 1.

6/3 Tl V (Z4 13 fizuerzm No. 316,573. PATENTBD APR. 3, 1906. W. FBRRIS A; F B. BAGER. OPERATING MBGHANXSM FOR BXCAVATORS, DREDGES, AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATIC'K YILBD JURB9.1905.

PATENTED APR. 3. 1906. W. FERRIS d: P. E. BAGBR.

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR BXCAVATORS DREDGES, AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATIOK FILED JUNED. 1, 05

3 SKBETS-SHEBT 3.

1 3 is a side elevation of the some.

' UNITED STATES PATENT oFFioE.

W ALTER FERRIS AND FREDERIC E. BAGER, OF SOUTH MILWASKEE, VVISCONSlN, ASSIGNORS TO THE BUCYRUS COMPANY, OF SOUTH MILWAUKEE, WISOONSHQ, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 3, 1906.

Application filed June 9,1905. Serial K0. 264,338.

To all w/tmn it may concern:

Be it known that we, VVALTER FERRIS and FREDERIC E. BAGER, residin in the city of South Milwaukee, county of l. dweukeefitete of Wisconsin, citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Im provements in Operating Mechanism for Excavators, Dredges, end the Like; and we do hereby declare the iollowin to be a. full, clear, and exact description 0 the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit epperteins to make and use the same.

The invention relates to excavators,

dredges, and like machines which employ iivindlngdrums for operating the dippers or buckets, and has for its object to provide means in conjunction with the dipper or bucket operating drums for actuating the dipper or bucket supporting boom. or the dredge-holding spuds, or both, withoutreversing the engine, ,by means of which the drums are operated.

To this end the invention comprises two main drum-shafts driven in opposite directions from the engine or prime mover, an einciliery drum-shaft which is operetively connected to the swinging boom or to the s nds end means for driving said auxiliary s aft from one or the other of the two main shafts, whereby the auxiliary shaft and the drums thereon me be driven in one direction or the other at mi 1 without changing the direction of movement of the respective main shafts and accordingly without reversing the en ine or motor.

igure 1 rise. plan view, partly in section, of an operating system for an excavator or dredge embodying our invention. Fig. 2 is a, plan view of the dredge, showing the connections between the opemtin drums, the swinging-boom platform, and ties uds. Fig. ig. 4 is an end elevation showing the operation of the spuds, and Fig. 5 is a horizontal section of a modified form of op eratus. 7

Referring to the rawin s, and more per ticulerly to Figs. 1 to 4, inc usive, A indicates the frame, u on which the engine or prime mover and t e various operating-drums are mounted.

0 indicates the prime mover, which in this particular form of the invention is an ordinected to cables E and F for operating the dipper l in the usual well lrnown manner. Each of said drums is loosely mounted upon its respective shaft, end said shafts are geared to the engine crank-shaft by gears d and e,

' the former meshing with the pinion c on said W crank-shaft end the ietter gear e'rneshing direotly with the gear d on stink-shaft f, so

7 that said shafts are rotated continuously, but

in opposite directions, when the engine a is operating.

Drum k is provided with a bend-clutch i, operated by a suitable link-and-lever mechanism i, i, and i, b means of which said drum may becouplei to or uncoupled from the shaft f. Drum o is provided with a, similer clutch p, which is operated to couple or uncouple said drum to the shaft g by means .of similar link-and-lever mechanism p, p, and r. The operation of these two drums, as above indicated, serves to raise and lower and otherwise operete the dipper D in the manner well known in the art.

in machines of this general type it is necessery to swing the boom upon which the dipper is sup orted to the right and left to accommodetet e apparatus to the varying conditions of work, and for this purpose it has been customary to provide a separate drum 0 ereted from a reversible englne or motor, w 'ch drum is connected with the rotetorypletform u on which the dipper-boom is mounted.

suit was found necessary to employ s uds or like anchoring means in apparatus 0 this oherseter, separate spud actuating drums were provided, which in turn were operated by drums driven from a reversible engine or motor.

" r In the present invention it is proposed to o crate the dipper-boom and the spuds from t e continuous y-operet' and preferably non-reversing engine a, which drives the d1? peroperating drums. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5 there is loosely mounted u on shaft a gear 1', which is provided wit a band-c utch k, operated b suitable link-and-lever mechanism Z, is, an k, which serves to connect and disconnect gearj with respect to the shaft f.

The shaft g is provided with a gear 1', having a clutch s, operated by link-and-lever mechanism t, s, and s, by means of which said gear 1" may be connected to or disconnected from said shaft 9 at will. Between the gear and the ear 1" is a transmissionpinion u, meshing with said gears. It is essential that the gear and ear 1' be not simultaneously connected wit 1 their respective driving-shafts, and for this purpose the operating-levers l and t of the clutches 7c and s are connected by suitable links m m with a common rock-lever m, so that when said lever m is in mid-position both clutches are uncoupled from the gear and gear 1', respectively, and when said lever m is moved to the ri ht or left the gear 1 or the gear 1' only is coup ed to its shaft. Meshing with the gear r is a gear '0, loosely mounted upon a transverse shaft w, said gear 1; having elongated clutchjaws 1;. Upon the shaft w is keyed a sleeve 12, located within the hub of gear '0 and rovided with short clutchaws v. A sli ing clutch I)", mounted loosely upon the shaft w, has long clutch-aws b, which are always in mesh with the long jaws 'v on the ear 1). Said clutch I) also has short jaws b, a apted to mesh with clutch-jaws on the drum at when said clutch b is moved to the right. The said drum (I; is loosely mounted upon shaft to and is adapted to operate a cable J,

assing around the rotar table or platform uponwhich the di per boom C is mounted, the ends of said cab e passing around drum :6 in opposite directions so that as one bight of the cable is paid off the other is taken u by the drum. When the sliding clutch ii is moved to the left, its long aws b mesh with the jaws v' of the sleeve 1;", which bein keyed to the shaft w thereby connects said shaft to the gear 'v. Corresponding] when the clutch b is moved to the right t e shaft w is disconnected from the gear 1) and drum m is coupled to said ear, whereas if the clutch b is moved to mi osition, as indicated in the drawings, both t e shaft 'w and the drum :1: are disconnected from the gear Q).

Mounted loosely upon the shaft to are two spud-operating drums y and 2, which serve to raise and lower the spuds S S by ap ropriate cables H I H I, said drums being a apted to be alternately coupled to the shaft by a clutch a operated bylink-and-lever mechanism a a and to be uncoupled from said shaft when the clutch a is moved to intermediate position. Pawls y z, cooperating with suitable ratchet-rims on the drums 'y and z, serve to lock said drums to hold the spuds in ad justed position.

In operating a dipper dredge of the character shown in the drawings the machine is moved ahead to a fresh cut and the spuds are run down by a heavy pull on the spud-ropes or cables, thereby pinning up and partiall y supporting the weight of the front end of the dredge upon the spudropes. The digging and swinging mechanism is put in o eration--that is to say, the dipper is raise( and lowered to scoop u and dum the material and is swung to an fro lateraily by rotating the table I to the right and left. It will be seen that under these conditions the arran ement of the operating mechanism must %)e such that the shaft w will remain stationary during the swinging movement of the dipperboom, because if said shaft were allowed to turn under the strain on the spud-operating drums y and zit would consume a reat deal of power and rapidly wear out the bearings of these drums u on the shaft and also wear the shaft. It is t iercfore the purpose of this in vention to provide means for driving the dipper-boom-operating drum without rotating the shaft to, upon which the latter is mounted, and for this purpose the gear'u is adapted to be connected directly to the drum :1: by means of the clutch I), having the long continuouslyenga ing jaws 'v and 1) between the said clutc 1 and the ear 1: and the short jaws coupling said clutc 1 to the drum cc, when said clutch b is moved to the right by the operating-lever b Under these conditions of 01peration the gear 1) is coupled directly to t 10 drum m and no rotation is imparted to the shaft w.

When it is desired to swing the dipperboom to the right, for instance, rock-lever m is swung to the right, thereby clutching gear j to the shaft f, and gear c is coupled to the drum :r b the means just described. Drum n: is there y driven in the proper direction to wind up the right-hand hauling-rope and pay off the left-hand rope, thereby revolving the table or platform I to the desired point, after which the drum 9; is uncoupled from the gear 1) and the latter allowed to drive idly upon its shaft. It will be noted that the gear '0 is driven from the shaft f through the intermediate gear-train j, a, and r. When it is desired to swing the boom in the opposite direction, the lever m is swung to the left, thereby uncoupling gear from its driving-shaft f and coupling gear 1" to shaft 9, thereby imparting rotatory motion to the gear 1; in the opposite direction from that above noted, so that when the drum :n is coupled to the gear 1) the table I is rotated to the left. By this means the swinging movement of the boom is accomplished without reversin the engine a and without in any way inter ering with the normal operation of the dipper-operating drums it and o. It will also be noted that when the lever m is moved to mid-position the train of gearing 7', u, r, and c is not operated, as both of the gears and r are uncoupled from their res ective shafts.

n operating the spud-controlling drums 'y and z shaft to is clutched to the gear o by moving the clutch b to the left until its long jaws b engage the short jaws e on sleeve '1)", which is keyed to the shaft w, thereby coupling ear 1) to said shaft w by means of the clutc i-jaws o, b, and v. The clutch e is then moved to couple drum 1,; to the shaft w, and the lefehand spud s is pulled down by its cable and subsequently drum 2 is thrown into operation to pull down the right-hand 3 ud, thereby pinning up the dredge, while the swinging drum 3: remains stationary. After each of the drums y and 2 have been operated to pin up the dredge said drums are locked in position by pawls y and 2, respectively, which engage ratchet-rims on the drums, after which the clutch n is moved to mid-position, leaving the spud-ropes pulling against the pawls.

It will be apparent that the spuds may be (withdrawn or lifted when it is desired to move the dredge to s. new position by reversing the rotation of the gear 1), so that the spud-operating drums y and 2 will also be reversed. After the dredge has been pinned up by the spnds and the clutch 0. has been moved to mid-position the clutch ii is withdrawn from engagement with the clutchjaws e and engaged with the jaws on the drum 2:, thereby enabling the gear 7) to drive the drum m to effect the swinging of the diper-boom without turning the shaft 10, which is subjected to the heavy pull of the stationa? spud-drums.

n the modified form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 5 the main operating-drums it and 0 are loosely mounted upon shaftsf and g, which shafts are driven from a gear (1'' upon the engine-shaft, each of said shafts f and g having fast thereon meshing pinions c and (Z, the latter of which is driven directly from the gear 6'. The respective drums h and 0' are ade ted to be connected to their drivingsha ts by clutches i and p. Loosely mounted upon the shafts f and g are gears j and 1", which are adapted to be connected to their respective shafts by clutches 9w. md s. Meshing with the gears mil i" is an intermediate gear u, mounted 1.1no. shaft in, upon which 18 mounted a dr= .t, ,ihipted to operate the cables running 1. the boom-platform of a dredge or e... rotor of the same eneral character as illustrated in Fig. '2. in this modification of the invention it will be noted that the gear 0 is driven continuously in one direction from the )rinie mover and drives the shaft 9 in one irection and the shaft f in the other direction through the connected dredges and the like, corn rising a .mover, two main shafts,

gearing d e. By con ling gear 7" to the shaft g the drum m wil be dr ven in one direction and the gear will idle upon its shaft. Upon uncoupling gear r from shaft 9 and connecting gear 7 to shaft f by means of the clutch is, the drum :12 will be driven in the oposite direction from the shaf t f through the intermediate gearing j and u, while the gear r idles. It will thus be seen that in this form of the mechanism also the auxiliary drum as may be operated in either direction Withont reversing the direction of the engine and without in any way interfering with the normal operation of the main operating-drums h and 0.

Having thus described our invention, We declare that what we claim, and desire to se cure by Letters Patent, is

1. Operating mechanism for excavators, dredgcs and the like, comprising a prime mover, two main drum-shafts driven in cpposite directions thereb an auxiliary drumshaft, and means for riving said auxiliary shaft from one or the other of said main shafts, whereby the auxiliary shaft may be reversed without changing the direction of movement of said main shafts.

2. Operating mechanism for excavators, dredges and the like, comprising a prime mover, a main drum-shaft geared to said prime mover, a second main drum-shaft geared for opposite rotation to the main drum-shaft, an auxiliary drum-shaft, and gearing adapted to drive the auxiliary shaft from one or the other of said main drumshafts, whereby the auxiliary shaft may be reversed without changing the direction of movement of said main shafts.

3. Operating mechanism for excavators, Pr

Alums imounted thereon, chfth mcliiinisih adapted to connect the respective drums to their shafts, means for driving the main shafts in opposite directions from said prime mover, an auxiliary shaft, one or more drums onsaidanxiliary shaft, cliite'lfiiiechfism for connecting no: same to said shaft, loose gears on the respective main shafts, clutch mechanism for connecting the same to their respective shafts, and gears connecting the drive-shaft and the gears on the main shafts, whereby the auxiliary shaft may be reversed without changing the direction of motion of said main shafts.

4. Operatin mechanism for excavators, drcdgcs and the like, com rising a shaft, a ear loose upon said she t, a plurality of ruins loose upon said shaft, a clutch for coupling the gear to the shaft or to one of said drums, and a clutch for coupling the other drum or drums to the shaft.

5. Operating mechanism for excavators, dredges and the like, comprising a shaft, 3.

gear loose upon said shaft, a plurality of drums loose upon said shaft, a clutch for cou ling the gear to the shaft or to one of sai drums, a clutch for coupling the other drum or drums to the shaft, and means for driving said gear in either direction.

6. Operatin mechanism for excavators, dredges and t e like, comprising a shaft, a ear loose upon said shaft, a boom-operating rum loose upon said shaft, a clutch member fast to the shaft, a clutch member on the gear, a clutch member loose on the shaft cooperating with said clutch members, and adapted to couple the gear to the shaft or to said drum, spud-operating drums loose on said shaft and a clutch for coupling said spudoperating drums to the shaft.

7. Operating mechanism for excavators, dredges and the like, comprising a shaft, a

gear loose upon said shaft, a boom-operating rum loose upon the shaft, c1utch mechanism adapted to connect the gear to the shaft or to said drum, spud-operating drums loose on said shaft, clutch mechanism adapt e315 con nect the latter drums to the shaft, and means for locking said spud-operating drums against rotation.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

WALTER FERRIS. FREDERIC E. BAGER. Witnesses:

RIDGELY FLETCHER, HARRY B. I'IAYDEN. 

